Having graduated at the end of last year with my Masters of Marketing and Strategic Advertising, I fell into a false sense of security. I guess it was my belief that by spending an extra 2 years studying, I was somehow a more qualified candidate and an easier hire. I guess you could say it was my undeserving sense of entitlement.
Entitlement has become a more common word that's thrown around when it comes to millennials and jobs. Frequently followed by something along the lines of "they don't know what hard work is". While I feel like my efforts to get a job this year could definitely be described as "hard work", there's no doubt I could be working harder. So I suppose there is some truth in that.
My sense of entitlement made me picky with the jobs I applied for. Up until recently, I was still aiming to get an agency job. After going through the interview process several times and being told that I was a close hire but that they went with someone with more experience, it's rattled me a bit. With most entry level jobs requiring 2-3 years experience, I was simply unqualified. I had done a few internships totalling 14 months of experience but I'm simply not qualified.
The months of failing to get a job has been hard on me, mostly because of the expectations I had for myself. My family and friends have been super supportive and they tell me that it takes time but it's gonna come eventually. Eventually, I'll be the one who's hired. I can't help but feel like a failure. I had so much drive towards the end of 2015. I was gonna get a job and start my career and continue learning in my role and love what I do.
These months of feeling like a failure has me second guessing my goals.
Do I actually like marketing? or advertising? Or am I leaning towards it because I've been trained in it? Why do I want to work in an agency? Am I in a rush to secure a job and career in a stream that I may not like to prove that I'm not just another useless university graduate who can't even get a job? What could I do that I'll love doing for the rest of my life? Maybe I should have studied biology or psychology like I had wanted. What if I do something that has nothing to do with what I studied in uni? Does that mean I've wasted 6 years of my life?
tl;dr I suppose you could say that I'm having an existential crisis.
So how am I going to tackle this?
LIST THERAPY!
THINGS I KNOW I LOVE:
- DOGS
- GETTING GIFTS FOR OTHER PEOPLE
- FOOD
- NEW TECHNOLOGY
- MUSIC
- GOING TO EVENTS
THING I COULD DO:
- DOGGY DAYCARE/SERVICE
- CURATED GIFTS?
- COOKING BLOG? LEARN HOW TO COOK PROPERLY?
- WRITE FOR TECH WEBSITE?
- BECOME A ROCKSTAR?
- EVENT PLANNING?
24 and I'm still getting to know myself. I'll figure it out eventually.
Do any of you guys feel like this? Cause it feels like I'm surrounded by a lot of people who have had no trouble getting a job.
